Modern street in Seoul selected as site for Korean-style Times Square

A government blueprint depicts the Korean version of Times Square.[Yonhap News Photo]

A modern street dotted with luxury hotels, a mega shopping mall, and a K-pop showroom was selected Thursday as the site for the Korean version of Times Square, a US commercial intersection and neighborhood in Manhattan.

For its project, the Interior Ministry selected the area around Seoul's COEX convention center in one of South Korea's most affluent areas in southern Seoul, which is better known as "Gangnam" after rapper Psy's "Gangnam Style" went viral.

Giant outdoor LED screens will be set up freely to turn the area and its neighborhood into a bright and glamorous landmark like Times Square, covering a "Hallyu (Korean culture wave)" town run by South Korea's largest showbiz group, SM Entertainment.

The ministry hopes to build South Korea's largest outdoor media square including a Hallyu theme park, a commercial section, and a digital entertainment park for music concerts and other outdoor activities.

Hyundai Motor plans to build a 105-story business center there, while SM has been creating K-pop tourist attractions around its office.